Farmers preparing for possible bluetongue outbreak

Controlling bluetongue will be top of the agenda at a meeting of livestock farmers.

An open meeting has been organised by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) at Ashford livestock market to debate a strategy for tackling the virus during 2009.

Howard Bates, a Kent sheep farmer and the NFU’s South East livestock board chairman, warned of new strains of Bluetongue yet to hit the UK.

He said: "There are 26 strains of bluetongue virus and fortunately the disease is not circulating in the UK.